Dangerous Parallels
by Sapphira2
Summary: “Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Jane had been immersed in all of this. Each time that Sam had thought she would break away, she had only sunk in deeper.” Sam’s thoughts after Tarzan rescued Nikki in “Emotional Rescue”. Part 7 in Reflecti


**_"Dangerous Parallels"_**

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**Part Seven in the "Reflections" Series,**

**written by Sapphira**

**Short Story Based on the WB TV Series "Tarzan"**

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**Disclaimer: **Don't own any of it… not the characters, the music, or the series in any form… I am making no profit off of this, or ANY of my other fanfics… I'm writing it purely for my own enjoyment, and hopefully for the enjoyment of some of the fellow fans.

**Distribution: **If you want it, you can have it… just drop me a line and tell me where it is going… ;)****

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**Author's Note – **This is the seventh part in an on-going series of mine, and is the sequel to "I'm With You", "Lies", "Fallen", "Forever", "Hollow", and "Nothing Thicker Than Blood"… Although all of these stories CAN be read as stand-alone pieces, I do hope that you will take the time and read all of them in order, if you have not done so already… Enjoy!

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**Summary – "**Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Jane had been immersed in all of this. Each time that Sam had thought she would break away, she had only sunk in deeper." Based on Sam's thoughts after Tarzan rescued Nikki in "Emotional Rescue"… Part Seven in the Reflections Series…

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"Dangerous Parallels"  

It seemed like all of his life he had been exposed to nature of the cruelties visited upon women. 

As a man he had to have been. And ever since he had chosen to become a cop, he had seen even more on the subject than he had ever cared to. His knowledge of it had expanded from just having been basic understanding of what should never be done, to what **_did_** happen, when those of his own sex chose to forego the moralities and decency that they should have never questioned or fought, and willingly lashed out. Intent on breaking down the very same women that they should have treasured and loved and protected. 

First few times he had seen a woman almost beaten to death, or what remained of her after she had been turned into a corpse, he had nearly been violently ill. In his mind, he couldn't quite grasp what went on in the minds of the men that did this, except that they were depraved individuals that preyed on those physically weaker than themselves. Eagerly exploiting and glorifying in their own ability to dominate them.

Over time and sadly multiple cases, the initial shock and sickness factor had finally worn away. Leaving him with just the sense of initial sadness over the wasted life of someone who had never deserved to be treated like this. 

But then there were the cases like Darcy's, which, in his mind made absolutely no sense. Why the hell would women do this to themselves? Willingly let a man treat them that way? It was the worst kind of insult that he could receive, after having seen how all of those relationships inevitably ended. A part of him wanted to drag those women down to the Precinct, and force them to sit there while other women filed in, looking for safety or the chance to press charges. All of them telling such similar stories over and over and over again. Stories that every single woman had heard at least one time or another. Stories that they all should have immediately taken to heart and never simply allow to happen to them.

So why didn't they? Why couldn't they realize the way it always played out? With the girl cold in her grave, and the guy moving on to his next target, another victim who would turn out to be nothing more than a dead girl walking, even if she didn't know it yet. 

Or, with that thought in mind, maybe he should take them down to the morgue… Let them get up close and personal with what they all seemed so keen on becoming.

This case with Darcy had brought all of those emotions back for him, and with it, a sense of instinctive fear for his partner. 

Jane was the most important person in his life. He would die for her at any time, and would do so gladly without a single thought for self-preservation. They had been friends for a long time now, and he knew the way she thought. Knew that she could take care of herself, and that she shared the same views as he did when it came to abusive relationships.

So when, over the last few weeks, he had seen what was going on between her and the 'supposed to be dead' John Clayton, the frightening parallels had started to set off little warning bells in his brain.

He'd seen what that man was capable of, and his perchance for violence and his possessiveness of Jane was such a dead ringer for everything that Sam hated, that it had finally caught up with him. Especially after he had seen how distant Jane had been for the last week or so since she had supposedly last seen John. She'd missed that wild man. She couldn't hide it from Sam, even if she wanted to. He'd even called her on it, more than once… And he had seen the look in her eyes when he had. 

She was drawn to John. Couldn't seem to say no and walk away when it came to the possibility of seeing him again. He witnessed that every time when they were together… the way her eyes would unwittingly search out the rooftops. How every case had her holding her breath, expecting John to appear out of thin air with some knowledge in regards to it.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Jane had been immersed in all of this. Each time that Sam had thought she would break away, she had only sunk in deeper. He had finally begun to think that maybe she didn't want to give him up, and the concept of the danger that would place her in had started to really frighten her partner. 

He didn't want Jane, strong and alive as she was, to become just another point in a time old statistic. 

And he had been afraid that, if she chose to spend anymore of her time with John Clayton, then that was what she would eventually become. A statistic.

She had already told him countless times, that John would never hurt her, but he hadn't believed her. How many times had he heard other women say that same thing, even as their bodies bore the bruises of the so-called incredible 'love' that they were experiencing and so protective of? 

He was a firm believer that if it looked like a duck, walked like a duck, and quacked like a duck, it was a duck… 

That is, until he and John had been forced to work simultaneously with one another with no previous verbal agreement or planning between them, to save the lives of two women caught in the clutches of a potentially very disastrous situation.

In that moment, it hadn't mattered what Sam's personal feelings had been towards John. All he could think of was that they had one shot to protect the woman that was both their primary concern, while she tried to save the life of hers. Trusting in the other two men to kill the bastard before he took her out.

When Gary had shifted the focus of his gun from Nikki to Jane, Sam did his part, while John did his. Wisely going in low, he had slammed into the hand tightening on that trigger, slipping his body between any possible incoming bullet and Jane, even as he knocked her to the security of the ground. Careful to get them both dropped and out of the way of Sam's own bullets as they impacted one after another in Gary's chest.

And then when John had gone after Nikki, plunging head first into that water, and then finally bringing her back out again, handing her over to her petrified older sister who for a moment there had thought she had lost yet another important person in her life… it had finally clicked with Sam what other little things he had also been seeing over the last few weeks. The way John inserted himself between Jane and potential danger… the way he had felt so compelled to protect any innocent that got wrapped up in particular cases that he managed to stumble into… even the way he had tried to throw that sniper off the roof. 

Let's face it, if it had been Sam standing there, he would have already put a bullet in him himself. And because he was a cop protecting not only civilians, but his partner who had been so cruelly targeted, he would have gotten away with it. No questions asked. 

He also recalled the way those two looked at each other… But especially the way John looked at her. 

Yes, there was possessiveness there… but there was also tenderness and a sense of awe. A genuine protectiveness that, although it brought out an obsessive need in the young man to watch over Jane, it wasn't in the same sense that Sam had come to connect to those, which bordered or crossed over into dangerous territory. 

John guarded Jane for good reason. This job was dangerous. And how many times had he already saved Jane? Could what Sam's job be considered any different? Could he honestly begrudge the man for saving her life?

Despite the dangerous parallels, this was turning out to be a bird of a **_very_** different type, as he had found out rather suddenly as he had watched over Jane as she cried and fussed over her soaked sibling.

Jane had been right… regardless of whatever similarities there might be, it wasn't in John to harm a woman in that regards. It appeared to genuinely be a concept that he was incapable of comprehending.

Despite the rather thin line separating him from Gary, it was one that he now felt pretty certain John would be just as prone to cross as he would be to quit his vigilante ways, cut his hair, and don a suit every day. It just wasn't in his nature.

Sam wasn't too sure what to think about the irony it all presented. That a man having been raised in the primal jungles like one of the feral creatures that lived there, could possess more humanity than one raised in so-called 'civilization'.

It didn't mean that he was happy with this entire arrangement. In fact, quite the contrary. But at least now he knew that John wasn't a danger to Jane. At least not in the way that he had feared. 

Which brought him to what was now becoming his most pressing concern. Even though Hell would freeze over before Sam would willingly let someone hurt Jane, he had found himself suddenly without a so much as a say in it. And he had hated that. Especially when he knew that she was in trouble… maybe not necessarily from John, but from those that were circling around him like the vultures he suspected them of being. 

His greatest fear now was that when it finally did all came down to a potentially explosive end, that Jane would be there, attempting to be at John's side and inevitably caught in the cross fire… and Sam wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. He wouldn't be able to be at her back like he was meant to be.

And then he would lose her, and in the process fail her twice fold by losing John as well…

Because he had a sinking suspicion that if Jane was ever killed, there would be no one left alive who would be able to stop John from proving just how much of a savage he could become, by ripping apart every single person held accountable for that heart shattering loss. 

And that he wouldn't want to do a damn thing to stop him.

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Well, what did you think? I think that is probably the first fic written so far based on Sam, but after watching this episode, and hearing the subtle parallels he kept drawing between John and Gary to Jane, but then his sudden change of heart after the events on the bridge, and his nod of respect towards John… I knew there was a story there.

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think, and whether or not I got his character right…

"Breathe In", the next part in this series, should be out soon…


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